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Wednesday, 2 April 2014

How to make a Bunny Cake!

I had so much fun making this cute little bunny cake from the book Surprise-inside cakes by Amanda Rettke! I just wanted to squeeze this little bunny in my arms, it is so cute! I know there are a lot of bunny cakes out there, but, with this one, it's whats inside that counts! Imagine surprising your family and friends with this stunning, inventive cake! The delight on your children's faces as this "Bunny Cake" comes to life!

To make
this "Surprise inside Bunny Cake", you can start with one of Amanda's delicious,
foolproof recipes for cakes and frosting's, or use a boxed cake mix or
favorite family recipe.What you will need-Two boxes of white cake mixPink, black and white gel food coloring1 recipe Buttercream frosting (below)white and pink candy melts

Special Equipment-

4- six inch cake panslong serrated knifeoffset spatuladisposable plastic pastry bags#74 decorating tipBaking-1. Mix together one box of white cake mix and divide between two of the six inch pans. Mix together the second box of cake mix, divide in half and tint one half pink. Put into the other two pans. You should have three white cake batters and one pink cake batter.

2. Bake according to package directions, adjusting the time for the size of the pan. Mine baked for about 35 minutes in a conventional oven. Cool to room temperature and freeze for at least an hour. (can freeze until another day to continue)

3. Level the cakes with a serrated knife, cutting across the top of the pan in a sawing motion.

4. Place one white layer on a cake stand or serving platter, off center. (allows for tail) Place the pink layer next to it on a sheet of parchment paper. Then center a 3 inch round cookie cutter in on the white layer and press down slightly, to make a guideline. Repeat on the pink layer.

5. Insert a sharp paring knife at about a 45 degree angle on the guideline of the white cake. Aim for the center of the cake (not the bottom), slowly pull or saw the knife around the cake on the guideline.

6. Remove the white cake cone and put it into a bowl. You will use the white scraps for the nose and top of the eye (white part) of the bunny.

7. Cut out the cone of the pink layer following the same procedure above. Put the pink cone inside the white cake. Crumble the pink cake in a second scrap bowl, removing any dark or hard spots. The pink scraps will be the eyes of the bunny (you will dye them black). You should have two scrap bowls, one with the pink scraps and one with the white scraps.

8. Place the other two white layers on parchment paper. Center a 4 inch cookie cutter on each layer and press down slightly, to form a guideline.

9. On one layer, dig a channel (this is where being a ditch digger comes in handy hahaha) about 1/4 inch deep, (I think mine was a bit deeper), using the guideline. On the other cake layer, dig out a channel about 1/2 - 3/4 inch deep. Add the crumbs to the white cake scrap bowl.

11. Add about 1 teaspoon of buttercream to the white cake scrap bowl. You can add white food coloring to this mixture to make the white brighter. (I did not have white gel food coloring, so I did not.) Mix until fully combined.

14. Roll out a smaller white snake from the white cake mixture and flatten it a little with your finger, but, make sure it's still at 1/4 inch thick.

15. Place the white cake mixture on top of the black snake, covering it completely.16. Using an offset spatula, spread some of the buttercream on top of the white cake with the pink cone inside it.

17. Set the layer with the black/white snake on top of that layer. Cover with a thin layer of buttercream. Turn over the remaining cake layer and lay it on top of the cake. Make sure the snake fits snugly into the carved out top layer.

18. Cover the cake in a crumb coat with the buttercream, using your offset spatula. Chill for at least an hour before decorating.

Buttercream Frosting - Amanda Rettke

1 two pound bag of powdered sugar (8 cups)1 cup shortening (Crisco) or 1/2 c. shortening and 1/2 c. unsalted butter2 tsp. vanilla extract (For pure white use clear vanilla)1/2-3/4 cup milkCream shortening and vanilla in mixer for 2-4 minutes. Add in powder sugar, one cup at a time. If you find your mixer struggling, slowly add in milk. Use more milk for a creamy consistency, use less milk for a stiff consistency. I used about 1/2 cup.

Frosting and Decorating- *note you may have to refrigerate the cake and the frosting, periodically throughout this process. My home is in a warm climate, I refrigerated often, to insure the frosting looked nice.

19. Insert a #74 decorating tip into a disposable pastry pastry bag and fill it with buttercream.

20. Applying light pressure, make small, short bursts with the pastry bag. They can be irregular in shape and size--just try to keep them about the same thickness. Do this over the whole cake.

21. To make the bunny tail, pipe out a big ball of frosting. If the frosting is too warm, you may have to do this in layers, refrigerating in between. Tint 1/2 cup of the buttercream pink and place it into the pastry bag with a #74 tip. Pipe out the same pattern as that on the cake to cover the tail.

22. Let's make the "Bunny ears"! Place 1 cup white candy melts in a clear disposable pastry bag and microwave in 30 second increments until the chocolate is mostly melted.Massage the bag with your hands until it's fully melted.23. place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. You can pencil out your bunny ear shape if you would like on a piece of paper and place it underneath the parchment. (I did not do this, as I have a pretty steady hand and artistic ability.)

24. Cut a very small tip off the bag. Pipe the inner white ear, making sure to extend at the bottom of the ear, so that you have a portion to plant into the cake. Repeat to make a second, third and forth ear. I made extra, in case of breakage. Also, they are yummy, so if you have several kiddo's, there is no fighting over "Who get's the ear"!!25. Melt 1-2 cups pink candy melts the same as the white candy melts. Pipe the cute little outer ear.26. Refrigerate the ears on the baking sheets for 30 minutes or freeze them for 2 minutes.27. Chill the cake. Just before serving, pull the parchment away from the ears and insert into the cake.

28. Now comes the fun!! Cut the large slice out of the cake..............reveal that cute bunny face!!

This cake is a "must do" for any mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, father, grandfather, uncle or brother, well , just about
everyone... it is a sure delight!